Her Greatest Wish
by RossyBowties
Summary: Gwen Cooper. A fighter, a soldier, a survivor. The only survivor. Torchwood was gone. Everything she had once loved was buried away. However one day, it all changes. Her greatest wish is granted, but should Gwen have been more careful what she wished for?
1. Chapter 1

My name is Gwen Cooper. Or Gwen Williams, depending on how you look at it. I'm happily married, living on an isolated coast a Wales where it never seems to stop raining. I have a beautiful daughter, my Anwen. I named her after them; I named her in their honour. My teammates. Once I had this wonderful, horrible job. I worked for this impossible man, alongside three magnificent friends. They're all gone now.

That was what I thought, anyway. Until one particularly windy day, at around eight in the morning, when I was feeding Anwen.

"That's right darling! The train's coming into the tunnel - open wide!" Another gloopy spoonful of banana and custard baby food found its way dribbling down her neck, most of it ending up in her bib.

Gwen sighed and wiped the mess away, turning to wash her hands in the sink and rub her forehead; not another headache, she begged. Yet, this was stranger. The thumping she could feel behind her eyes, like four hearts beating and pulsing in unison. A fizzing sensation soared through her skull and she dropped the spoon that had been clutched in her hand. Deciding that it was air that she needed, she attempted to open the window. After several moments of bashing on the window pain, and crying out about what a terrible, run-down house it was, the window flung open and a gust of cold air slammed into her face.

She breathed in deeply, closing her eyes and massaging her temples with her fingers. Behind her she could hear Anwen giggling loudly, but there was something else grasping her attention. She peered out of the window and blinked as the wind attacked her face. There. On the hillside. She shook her head in disbelief as, on the edge of a distant cliff, stood four figures. She squinted in an attempt to make out who they were, but they became no clearer. All she knew was that there was a powerful urge churning in her stomach, pulling her towards that very cliff edge. Gwen rushed to the cupboard under the stairs, grabbing her coat and pulling her boots on. She then peered up to where her trusty old gun lay, and grabbed that too. Better safe than sorry.

"Rhys! I'm going for a walk, take care of Anwen for me?" She hollered up the stairs, then shoved her gun into her back pocket. Rhys called down in annoyance, complaining that he was in the middle of painting an old bookshelf. Gwen giggled, poor Rhys, trying to make this miserable old house a little brighter but failing terribly: his DIY skills weren't exactly up to scratch.

"I'm trying to get this bloody thing done!" He yelled, then cried out in pain as the hammer fell on his toe.

"Leave it for a bit, make sure Anwen doesn't make even more of a mess of herself!" Gwen shouted, a slight smile of amusement on her face. She headed for the door, blowing Anwen a kiss to which she giggled at and waved her arms, then Gwen left the house and slammed the door behind her.

Instantly, the piercingly cold wind battered against her face. She shoved her hands deep into her pockets and trudged onwards. The four figures were still standing there, strong and bold and unmoving. She headed towards them, as if some invisible string was laced from her body to that distant cliff edge, pulling her towards it. The clouds above her gave a terrifying rumble, the sky turning such a dark grey that it was almost black. Then the rain began to pour. Gwen continued to journey towards those people. She felt her hand subconsciously touch at her gun as her heart began to pound faster.

The figures started to become clearer. More human-like and real. Gwen knew that they were important. So, so important. She could feel it in her chest, as if these people meant more to her than anything in the world. That was when the realisation struck. One of them was wearing a long trench coat, another was a woman wearing a long, leather jacket. The one to her right, a man, was wearing a rather posh waistcoat. The last was also a man, wearing jeans and a short duffel coat. But how?

Gwen bounded towards them, her heart soaring, so much confusion running through her veins it almost made her dizzy. Then she heard her name being called, in an American accent so recognisable she almost screamed out in delight.

Gwen stood, soaking wet and out of breath and on the tallest cliff for miles, in front of her old teammates. Torchwood.

They all stood, grinning at her. Well, apart from Owen who had a rather moody look on his face that Gwen guessed was due to the lack of people, buildings and roads and the presence of a rather heavy, freezing downpour.

"Hello." Gwen said softly and rather unlike herself. She was evidently doubtful, and who could blame her. Her teammates were supposed to be...well..."You should be dead." She stated matter-of-factly and took a step backwards.

"But we're here." Owen said, beginning to smile. He face crinkled sweetly, the way it once did a long while back when everything seemed a lot simpler.

"How can you be? It's just not possible." Gwen shook her head in denial, the stared at Jack with her eyes wide and rather beautiful - like brown hazelnuts roasted in a toasty fire. He looked down at her, his stance at ease, his eyes full of life. He gave a chuckle and held out an object that Gwen gasped at in recognition.

"The stone!" Her voice echoed over the Cliffside and out across the sea, hitting the waves and bouncing back to them, floating on the wind.

-x-

Gwen and Rhys had taken to tending the garden, no, not 'gardening', Rhys insisted that the word 'gardening' made them sound like pensioners. 'Tending the garden', a lot younger, cooler.

"Alright, alright. You can pull up the weeds instead. I'll try and shift this blooming thing." Gwen sighed, fed up of Rhys moaning about how he had done his back in. Beside them in her pushchair, Anwen giggled at her parents, sucking at her mitten. Gwen smiled over at her beautiful daughter. Anwen, the one person she would give up everything for. The reason she had moved so far away from civilisation, the reason she had given up Torchwood and aliens and the wonders of the Universe that nobody else could see. Her beautiful daughter, she'd keep her safe at any cost.

"These damn weeds, oh why did we move here Gwen?" Rhys huffed, using his rake to ply long-rooted dandelions out of the soil. Gwen turned to face him, her face deadly serious and her eyes glaring at him.

"To keep you and Anwen safe." She hissed, before turning back to haul up a paving stone. Rhys shook his head and wiped a layer of sweat off his forehead with the back of his hand.

"Alright love, that wasn't exactly what I meant."

"I know what you meant." Gwen mumbled, concentrating on removing another paving stone. She was trying to remove the old path up the side of the house and replace it with a pretty array of sunflowers. As she heaved another paving slab from the ground, groaning in pain, she was suprised to see something lodged in the soil underneath, something shimmering in the watery sunlight.

Gwen bent down onto her knees, hypnotised momentarily by how beautiful an object it was. It seemed to be some kind of stone with glittering jewels encrusted into its outer layer. She picked it up gently with her fingers and turned it over in her palm, ignoring Rhys' nattering behind her as he moaned on and on about how cold the weather was, and how long it had been since he'd seen his parents. Gwen stared into the cold depths of the shiny pebble, blinking at it, before pocketing it and continuing to work, nodding absent-mindedly at Rhys' long rant.

That evening Gwen had placed the stone on her bedside desk, staring at it. What was so intriguing about the bloody thing? She couldn't tell. It was just so beautiful, so stunning, so…alien? No. It wasn't possible. She'd moved away from all that. She rolled over onto her back and stared at the ceiling. If only it was an alien artefact, and she'd wake up to find herself back in Cardiff. If only she could jump out of bed, shrug on her jacket and haul her jeans up over her thighs before kissing Rhys goodbye and heading to work. If only she could see her old team again. Ianto, Tosh, Owen and Jack. If there was one thing she wanted more than anything, it was to see her old teammates again.

As her eyes drooped, and sleep overcame her, her dreams whisking her off to distant stars and galaxies and universes where blowfish and weevils danced around in circles, at peace. Unknown to her, the stone on her bedside table began to glow a brilliant green, illuminating the room and bringing the gift of life to those so very far away, drawing them closer to the one person who needed them. Gwen had been right, this stone was alien, and it was going to turn her world upside down once more. She would never be able to leave Torchwood behind.


	2. Chapter 2

"This is a desiderio fulgens stone, or Shining Desire, as known in English. It brings the owner their one greatest wish, gives them the one thing they love and cherish the most." Jack explained in a voice they had once cherished back at Torchwood. A wondrous, magical tone within his American accent that caused them all to listen closely, holding their breath.

"Well that's all lovely and Harry Potter isn't it? Can we get to somewhere with shelter? I'm freezing my arse off here." Owen groaned, wrapping his arms around his body. This outburst received a slap on the arm from Tosh and Owen growled at her. Gwen grinned, surprised at their normalcy.

"So it brought you all back to life?" Gwen asked, ignoring Owen's groans as he knew he'd have to stand and listen to all of her questioning.

"Yes." Tosh nodded. "We're back, in the flesh. Thanks to you."

"So, I can touch you?" Gwen asked, her eyes filled with tears and need and she stared at Ianto in front of her. The others allowed him to answer her, knowing that his death had pained her most, it being so unexpected. She hadn't had enough time to get to know Ianto. They were close, but not as close as she had wanted them to be. The fact that she hadn't even known the truth about his father's occupation had pained her after he had died, and she had not forgiven herself for it.

"Yes." Ianto replied. Gwen didn't allow another second to pass and leaped for him, grasping his body in her arms and holding him tight against her, relishing his body warmth and the beating of his heart that she could feel through his chest. Ianto's hands gripped her waist and he snuggled his head down against hers, kissing into her hair and smiling down at her. They pulled apart and Gwen held his hand, squeezing it before letting go and stepping back.

"Are you here to stay?" She whispered, scared to find the answer. As Tosh, Owen and Ianto bowed their heads in unison, she knew the answer and cursed inwardly. "Why not? Why can't you stay forever?" She almost sounded like a whiney child, begging for another bag of sweets in the middle of Asda as her mother looked on in embarrassment.

"The stone can't keep them here for too long, Gwen." Jack replied solemnly.

"But you? You're real, right? You're back for good, aren't you?"

"We'll see." Jack muttered. Silence followed and they stood still, listening to the wind howling around them, bashing at the sea and whispering amongst the distant trees. Owen cleared his throat and they all turned to him, his body was shivering and he was frowning openly.

"Can we go inside now? Please?"

Gwen beckoned them down the cliff, pointing at her house. They didn't utter a word for a long while, each deep in their own thought. As they got closer to the house, Owen began to mumble and moan once more about how cold he was. Oh, and how he hadn't had a decent meal in years. Tosh hissed at him, explaining sarcastically how the dead didn't usually get a roast dinner delivered to their grave and Owen had shot a glare back at her.

"Damn, I didn't think of that. I don't have much food in." Gwen replied, surprised at how casual her voice was, as if this was a normal situation. "Oh God, I've just realised, how the hell am I going to explain this to Rhys?"

"Oh, so you haven't chucked him?" Owen chuckled and Tosh gave him another slap on the arm, this time a lot harder.

"No, I haven't." Gwen replied through gritted teeth and Jack couldn't help but laugh at how comfortable and normal it was to be back with the old team again. They reached the porch of the house to be greeted with a high pitched cry and Gwen ran in quickly, swearing loudly. The four of her friends stood in the doorway awkwardly as they watched her scoop up a pretty, yet runny-nosed, baby from its high chair and rock it gently, singing quietly.

"Shh, darling. It's okay, mummy's here." She whispered, kissing her forehead before yelling up the stairs. "I told you to look after her!"

"I told you, I'm busy with this bloody bookshelf! Is someone there Gwen? I could hear voices?" Rhys' recognisably welsh voice bellowed downstairs and they could hear a loud clatter, then some cursing. Jack held back a muffled chuckle and Owen smirked openly. Ianto and Tosh watched on in slight embarrassment.

"Yeah, look, don't be scared, okay? Just…come downstairs calmly. I have an explanation." Gwen shouted, turning from her friends, back to the staircase, worry etched firmly on her face.

"What the bloody hell is going on, you can't just say something like that and expect-" Rhys plodded down the stairs to face the doorway, his mouth dropping and his heart leaping from his chest in surprise. He didn't say a word, just stared. Gwen turned slowly and shoved her baby into Owen's arms who grimaced openly, then held her arms out in defence.

"I know, it looks crazy. Just let…let me explain, okay?" She walked towards him calmly and carefully, putting her hands up beside her face. Rhys began to mumbled incoherently and behind her, Anwen started to sob as Owen had evidently never held a baby before.

Rhys opened the door to the living room, clearing his throat and whispering, in a terrified and creaky voice, that perhaps they should go in there and she could explain what was going on. He started to shake openly and Gwen pushed him into the room, muttering an apology to her friends before slamming the door behind them.

"Well, er, what now?" Tosh asked. Owen held out Anwen at arms-length and Ianto rolled his eyes, carefully taking the baby from him and rocking her in his arms. She stopped crying instantly and smiled up at him. Jack closed the door behind them, blocking out the freezing wind, and ushered them into the kitchen. They each took a seat around the wooden table, apart from Jack who stood tall and proud beside the window, staring out onto the sea.

"How are you so good with babies?" Owen asked, frowning at the child in Ianto's arms who was burbling happily, reaching out her hand to grasp at Ianto's waistcoat. Ianto looked up, smiling.

"I don't know, I just seem to have a knack with them. I wonder what her name is. Bless her, she looks just like her mother." He whispered.

"Thank god." Owen laughed harshly, thinking of Rhys and how awful the child would have looked as a female version of him. Tosh glared at him and rolled her eyes.

"You never change do you?" She moaned, ignoring the fact that Jack was now chuckling rather loudly at the three of them. Owen grinned back at her and cocked his head, as if to answer the question with a cheeky 'no'. The room fell silent apart from the occasional burble from Anwen and sighs from Owen. They could hear raised voices in the other room and could tell Rhys had started a heated debate on whether they could stay within his house or not.

"Why did you leave her?" Ianto asked, filling the silence and causing a large and awkward pause to ring in the air. He was staring straight at Jack, Anwen cooing in his arms. Tosh and Owen stared at him also, their eyes questioning and rather surprised at the fact that he had left her. They knew how much Gwen meant to Jack, and couldn't ever imagine him leaving her on her own.

"Because I'd lost so much and so many. Because I couldn't bear to walk upon this earth, this graveyard, any longer. How could you look into the eyes of one of your most caring and loving friends, seeing the loss and sadness within them, and know that it was all your fault? All your fault that they were dead."

"No." Tosh said firmly. "We all signed up for Torchwood. We put our own lives on the line. None of this was ever, ever, your fault."

Jack didn't have the time to reply because just as Tosh finished her sentence, Gwen entered the room, slightly out of breath. She smiled at them, and almost squealed with joy when she saw Anwen cradled in Ianto's arms. She nodded, sighing happily. "It's okay, you can stay."

Rhys edged into the room beside her, his face still showing just how scared he was. He raised his hand in a feeble wave and smiled weakly. He turned to nod at each person in turn, stopping on Ianto, and Anwen in his arms, and giving a slight glare which Ianto winced at. "Erm, hello. Nice to see you, you know, back. Stay for as long as you want…yeah." He shook his head, wiping the sweat from his forehead, then left the room slowly.

"Sorry, it's scary enough for me, let alone him." She mumbled. "He's gone to fix that bookshelf of his, he's been obsessed with DIY recently, pretty rubbish with it though."

Owen huffed slightly and rose from the chair shaking his head. "I'll go help the poor guy, talk to him a bit. Perhaps reassure him." The others stared at him, at how incredulous the suggestion was, but Gwen nodded in defeat anyway, warning Owen to be careful around Rhys and a hammer. The others chuckled as he exited the room, then Tosh cleared her throat.

"I was wondering, if you still have the kit, could I log onto the Torchwood archives? I have a few things I want to change before I go?" She asked, fiddling with her thumbs slightly. Gwen nodded and rushed to the cupboard under the stairs, pulling out a large laptop case and thrusting it into her arms.

"Go wild." She smiled, patting Tosh on the arm with affection. Oh Tosh, never away from her technology, even after death she finds a way of getting herself back onto a computer.

Gwen headed back to the kitchen, taking a seat next to Ianto and sighing exhaustedly. She looked between Jack and Ianto, then down to her darling little baby. She held out her little finger, allowing Anwen to grip it with all of her fingers and squeeze it hard. Ianto chuckled at her and made a small humming sound, rocking her and smiling at her delighted face. Jack acknowledged how adorable Ianto looked with a child, and a pang of pain rattled through his stomach at the thought of how Ianto would never be a father. How in a few days' time, Ianto, Tosh and Owen would be gone for good. How he'd somehow have to inch his way out of Gwen's life again and escape this Earth and the deaths that weighed down on his brain.


End file.
